1. Technical Field
The present application relates in general to a system and method for the economic optimization of aircraft operation.
2. Description of Related Art
Many operators of a rotorcraft, or a fleet of rotorcraft, are under tremendous pressure to operate the rotorcraft as efficiently as possible due to the narrow margins of the particular business. Substantial expenses can include fuel costs, maintenance costs, part replacement cost, and rotorcraft downtime cost, for example.
With regard to fuel usage, operators of rotorcraft may make rather rudimentary analysis of their flight operations to make adjustments to their flight procedures to attempt a reduction in fuel consumption. Such an analysis may include flying a first flight regime between a departure site to a destination site, then later flying a second flight regime between the departure site and the destination site, then comparing the fuel consumption to determine which flight regime is optimal.
Further, maintenance costs, part replacement costs, and rotorcraft downtime costs have typically been factored by analyzing historical operational data. However, such a practice produces only an approximate estimate and is very time consuming for the operator. Further, small operators may lack the experience and human capital required to perform the analysis.
Hence, there is a need for a system and method which allows a rotorcraft operator to improve and optimize economic usage of a rotorcraft.